1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a protective apparatus that is able to house a portable device and accessories of the portable device.
2. Related Art
As portable electronic devices become smaller and more sophisticated, they are prone to being easily damaged. Some of the portable electronic devices are fitted with accessories for performing extended functions. For example, a cellular phone is usually fitted with an earpiece.
The U.S. Patent Application Publication 20050255898 ('898 publication), entitled “Cell Phone And Holder”, published on Nov. 17, 2005, discloses a cell phone holder. The cell phone holder includes a pocket for holding a cell phone, and a housing on the back plate of the cell phone holder for accommodating an earpiece of the cell phone. The housing is a complicated structure for controlling the extension and retraction of the earpiece cable.
The cell phone holder of the '898 publication has, inter alia, the following disadvantages: The earpiece cable of the cell phone is wound around a spool within the complicated housing, which make it inconvenient for a user to install the cable into or remove the earpiece from the housing when the earpiece cable is not necessary for the cell phone. For example, if the original earpiece cable is defective, it is inconvenient for the user to replace a new earpiece into the housing. Additionally, the complicated housing also increases the cost of the cell phone holder.
Accordingly, what is needed is a holder and an accessory housing that provides protection for a portable device and to hold accessories of the portable phone. The holder should be simple in design for easy manipulation and removal of a cable. The simple design also saves on cost.